Pipeline valve apparatus

ABSTRACT

A pipeline valve is provided which includes a valve body having a spherical bore with a cylindrical valve seat. The cylindrical valve seat is positioned along the centerline of the spherical valve body and can be machined in the valve body. Alternatively, the valve seat can be an elastomeric material which is inserted into the valve body. The butterfly valve disk is conical in shape. In one embodiment, the disk is constructed from two halves, fastened together, having a movable T-seal perimetrial surface. 
     The T-seal is received by a groove recessed within the disk. Behind the T-seal, an elastomer or linear expander biasing member can be disposed to force the T-seal in a direction towards the valve seat. The valve disk is connected to a control shaft by an attachment assembly which allows for self-alignment of the disk. The control shaft terminates in a forked end having two legs which define an aperture corresponding to coupling pads on either side of the disk. The disk includes a tongue disposed across the top of the disk. The control shaft has a corresponding groove adapted to receive the tongue on the disk. Surrounding the shaft is a stuffing box containing packing rings. The packing rings prevent the pressure medium from escaping between the shaft and the valve body to atmosphere. The shaft has grooves therein which receive the packing rings. The packing rings are forced into the grooves, thereby effectively sealing the valve body.

This is a divisional of copending application Ser. No. 809,720 filed onDec. 17, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,118.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pipeline valve apparatus and, moreparticularly, to improvements in sealing and flow characteristics ofvalves.

2. Description of the Invention Background

Heretofore, valve bodies have been constructed in various forms, two ofwhich include spherical bore valve bodies which were adapted to receiveball valves and cylindrical bore valve bodies which were adapted toreceive butterfly valves. There are several disadvantages associatedwith these valve forms. The spherical bore valve body with a ball valve,although providing satisfactory sealing characteristics provides poorthrottling characteristics. While such valves may be adequate when onlyfully open and fully closed valve positions are required, whenthrottling is required, cylindrical bore valve bodies with butterflyvalves are preferred.

However there are problems associated with cylindrical bore valvebodies, one of which is that the butterfly valve must have a smallerdiameter than the bore of the body. In the event of catastrophic failureof the shaft which rotates the valve, the valve may travel downstream,posing a risk to workers and equipment. Another problem with priorbutterfly valves is that they are rotated by means of a shaft which isinserted into the disk. Such valves require hubs built into the disk toreceive the shaft. Thus, it is necessary to provide a disk with a hubarea having a greater diameter than the shaft. The enlarged hub areas,especially in the smaller valves, such as valves in the 4 inch andsmaller pipeline range, produce a significant flow restriction throughthe pipe even when disk is rotated to the full open position.Additionally, due to the cylindrical bore in the valve body, flow islimited through the valve body because of the minimal relative distancebetween the disk and the inside surface of the valve body. Such severeflow restrictions associated with butterfly valves having cylindricalbore valve bodies render such valves undesirable in many applications.

Therefore, control valves especially in the 4 inch and smaller pipelinerange need the desirable characteristics of both butterfly valves andball valves but which eliminate the undesirable characteristics of suchvalves. A valve is needed which has increased flow through the valvebody when fully open and which has excellent throttling characteristicsA valve is also needed which will not travel downstream shouldcatastrophic shaft failure occur.

The demand for control valves to perform in very hostile chemicalenvironments has caused valve manufacturers to produce a variety of verydifferent butterfly and ball valve product lines within each company.Unfortunately, each product line requires its own engineered andmanufactured components, a situation producing significant cost increaseat both the manufacturing and customer levels.

Manufacturability poses another problem in many valve designs, and theball and butterfly valves are no exception. The disk's concentricity tothe valve housing seat requires very rigid design standards andexpensive machine tooling. A valve body or disk machined out oftolerance produces higher cost in scraped components, and/or valves inservice with components at borderline tolerances will inevitablygenerate higher maintenance costs.

Another problem with valves used in the past is that it is difficult toobtain an effective seal between the valve body and the control shaft.Valves in the past utilized stuffing boxes with packing rings which hadto be forced against the smooth surface of the control shaft toeffectuate a proper seal. Relatively high forces were required tomaintain such a seal between the packing rings and the smooth surface ofthe control shaft.

Additionally, it is desirable to provide a valve which eliminatesfugitive emissions of any chemical identified as hazardous. Therefore, avalve design is needed that will minimize the present shaft highfriction forces, while allowing safe and reliable performance withinacceptable fugitive emissions limits.

The present invention is directed toward an improved design for a valveapparatus which overcomes, among others, the above discussed problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a valve which overcomes many of thedeficiencies of valves in the past. A butterfly valve is provided whichincludes a valve body having a spherical bore with a cylindrical valveseat. The cylindrical valve seat is positioned along the centerline ofthe spherical bore valve body and can be machined in the valve body orcan be a rigid insert such as polytetrafluoroethylene reinforcedfiberglass. Alternatively, the valve seat can be an elastomericmaterial, such as rubber or polytetrafluoroethylene, which is insertedinto the valve body. Such an elastomeric valve seat is suitable forpositive shut-off at temperatures under 500° F. The valve body can be ofunitary construction or can be comprised of two separate sections, anouter section and an inner section. The two section design allows forthe option of constructing the two pieces of different materials. Thevalve body is symmetrical with respect to its transverse axis thusallowing actuation from either end.

The valve disk will consist of three variable shapes and a perimetricalsurface with design interchangeability in material and constructiontechniques that will increase the valve's overall service capabilitiesin a wide variety of commercial and high technology applications. In oneembodiment, the disk is constructed of metal or a high strength polymerand is formed as a unitary member with a convex perimetrical surface.Alternatively, the larger disks can be constructed as two halves,secured together with a plurality of fasteners or pins and plug welds,preferably with a minimum of seven. This concept will help keepmanufacturing costs at a minimum, since the casting pattern will besimplified and the same pattern will be used to cast both halves. Thedisk's replaceable T-Seal will be available as a elastomer,polytetrafluoroethylene or metal peripheral component. The T-seal isconstructed as two halves and each half includes two portions, a sealingportion and an attachment portion, which are perpendicular to oneanother.

The attachment portion of the T-seal is received by a groove recessedwithin the disk. Behind the attachment portion, a elastomer or linearexpander biasing member can be disposed to force the T-seal in adirection toward the valve seat. The T-seal is received by the disk insuch a manner so as to allow for movement of the T-seal toward and awayfrom the center of the disk. Thus, the movement of the T-seal allows thedisk to move into the sealing position without causing excessive wear onthe elastomeric valve seat because the T-seal will move toward the diskwhen the disk is moving toward the valve seat. When the valve disk hasmoved into the fully closed position, the biasing member forces theT-seal toward the valve seat thus providing an effective seal.Therefore, the problems associated with butterfly valves in the pastrelating to inadequate sealing are overcome by the addition of theT-seal. Additionally, since the bore is spherical, if catastrophic shaftfailure should occur, the disk cannot completely pass through thespherical bore, and thus is prevented from traveling downstream. Also,the cylindrical centerline valve seat provides for low seating and breakaway torque.

The valve is connected to a control shaft by a unique attachmentassembly. The control shaft terminates in a forked end having two legs.The inner surfaces of the legs define an aperture which corresponds tocoupling pads on either side of the disk. The legs can be attached tothe disk by conventional means such as bolts, screws or rivets with theholes in the disk for receiving the bolts, screws or rivets beingslightly oversized. The over-sized fastener holes in the disk couplingpads and the difference between coupling pads width, allow the disk tomove right to left and vise versa. The upper and lower disk tongues areassembled into a series of components with a mating groove. The tongueand groove feature will also allow the disk the freedom to move right toleft and vise versa. The disk's entry into the center-line seatorchestrates all the self-alignment features to come into play allowingperfect concentricity to the disk's periphery and centerline seat.

An important feature of the invention is the means by which the disk isheld to the shaft and attachment assembly. The disk includes a tonguedisposed across the top of the disk. The control shaft has acorresponding groove adapted to receive the tongue on the disk.Surrounding the shaft is a flanged bushing adapted to rotatably receivethe shaft. The flanged bushing also has a groove adapted to receive thetongue on the disk. Surrounding the flanged bushing is a sphericalrotating seal which also has a groove for receiving the tongue on thedisk. The spherical rotating seal serves as a sealing component and itsresponsibility is more important in the positive shut-off design. Thespherical area acts as a continuation of the disk's periphery seal as itmoves into the center-line seat area. Another added sealing feature willbe found in the elastomeric seals. The top of the seal exposes a largesurface area to the system pressure. In the case of the threadedportable stuffing box, the flanged bushing is assembled through thespherical rotating seal and into bearing bore in forward section of theportable stuffing box. In the case of the O-ring portable stuffing box,the flanged bushing is assembled through the spherical rotating seal andinto the bearing bore in the shaft bore.

This unique attachment assembly by which the disk is connected to thepower and slave shafts through a series of overlapping components,associated with a tongue and groove concept have significantly increasedthe pressure containing capability of a dual shaft design. In addition,the design represents an improvement in the strength of butterflyvalves. Since the flange bushing is positioned on the outside of theshaft and overlaps the shear stress points, it can be viewed as an addeddimension to the valve's overall strength capabilities. The flangebushing can provide 15 to 20% added strength factors not found inbutterfly valves of the past. This feature not only is significant froma safety standpoint but it an reduce costs by eliminating the need toincrease the shaft's size.

The shaft section between the valve body and disk are subject toextremely high shear and bearing load factors. The flanged bushingmaintains a dual responsibility in this area. It functions as theshaft's thrust load pivoting point, while acting as an overlappingcomponent between the disk and valve body increasing the valve's overallpressure containing capability. The tongue and groove design, wherebythe disk's tongue, when assembled into its mating shaft and sphericalrotating seal, further increases the valve's overall yield strength. Allthe above components when assembled into the spherical bore body,provide a valve with pressure containing capabilities superior tocontrol valves of the past.

The disk self-alignment feature is another characteristic unique to thisdesign. When the disk is in its final closing position, the shaft allowsfor movement of the disk by slight amounts in a direction parallel tothe groove in the rotating seal and thus allows the disk to self-alignwithin the valve body. Further, since the valve member is disk shaped,the bore is spherical and the valve disk does not require an enlargedhub area, the valve has throttling and minimal flow restrictioncharacteristics which are better than butterfly valves of the past.

Another important feature of this invention is the manner in which thevalve body is sealed off from atmosphere. In one embodiment of the valvebody, surrounding the shaft and adapted to receive the flanged bushingis a threaded, portable stuffing box containing packing rings. Thestuffing box and packing rings prevent the pressure medium from escapingbetween the shaft and the valve body to atmosphere. The shaft hasgrooves therein which receive the packing rings. The packing rings areforced into the grooves, thereby effectively sealing the valve body. Thepacking ring material being forced into the shaft's radius groovesproduce a retaining affect preventing vertical movement during highpressure surges. The system pressure exerts an outward force, pushingthe packing ring material tight against the upper groove radiusproducing a positive seal. The higher the system pressure the tighterthe packing material seals in the radius grooves. The stuffing box isthreaded into the valve body and surrounds the flanged bushing. Thethreaded, portable stuffing box is desirable for use in hightemperature/pressure applications due to its excellent sealingcharacteristics.

The following description is intended to put into perspective theperformance and maintenance advantages of the threaded, portablestuffing box and its power shafts with grooved seal system, versus oneof the most common and widely used shaft seal systems of the past.

Contrary to many previous designed shaft seal systems, more packingrings will not produce a more effective and reliable seal system. Thefollowing explanation and example will support this allegation. Thefirst packing ring in a stack series stuffing box will absorb 50% of thetotal pressure drop, and each ring thereafter will absorb 50% of theprevious ring. Accordingly, the first five packing rings retain 97% ofthe total pressure drop. The last five packing rings have little affecton seal performance but will produce a negative impact in both thepacking ring friction, thus producing high operating torques and addedcost due to specialized castings and in-line deep drilling of stuffingbox chamber.

Most seal systems of the past require a very high thrust force beingexerted against the packing rings squeezing tight against the rotaryshaft and stuffing box wall. This high thrust force in conjunction withtemperatures and chemicals can cause packing rings to become hard and insome cases crystallize, producing seal failure.

The threaded, portable stuffing box with the shaft having grooved sealsystem requires significantly less thrust force while achieving the samesealing capabilities of past control valves. The threads were developedfor components associated with high pressure hydraulic equipment and areknown in that industry as NPTF. This thread design enables a componentto be disassembled and assembled many times while maintaining aleak-free high pressure connection.

The male end of my NPTF portable stuffing box maintains a 1"111/2 NPT3/4" standard pipe thread taper. The opposite end, sometimes referred toas the female end, maintains a 1" 111/2 NPTF 7/8" pipe thread taper. Thehigh pressure seal is developed through a deliberated difference oftaper between the male fitting end (NPT) and tapped female fitting end(NPTF). Both fitting ends are machined to ring gage tolerances, allowingthe two components to seal at a predetermined dimension. This gagedtolerance insures only the necessary packing ring thrust force isgenerated insuring the packing rings are squeezed properly into theshafts ringed grooves. The gaged tolerance also prevents over thrustingthe packing rings, while providing a high pressure, leak-free connectionat the components mating threads.

My standard NPTF portable stuffing box houses five packing rings. Thepacking rings are die mold 1/4" square angle cut, available in grafoilribbon and polytetrafluoroethylene rope. These two materials cover themajority of service applications and are readily available throughoutthe packing industry.

A standard power shaft consists of several radius ringed grooves.Although there are five packing rings, they are squeezed into theseveral individual radius rings in the power shaft producing severalindividual sealing points. Each individual radius ring acts as aretaining groove lock packing ring, preventing up/down movement duringpressure surges. When the piping system pressure increases, it exerts anoutward force against the first packing ring. Since the first ring hasbeen squeezed into the first two radius rings, the system pressurecaused the packing ring material in the top radius of the two grooves tosqueeze the packing material very tight against the two upper radius,the higher the system pressure, the greater the seal force on the tworadius grooves and preventing media leakage past the first packing ring.

As stated above, regarding shaft seal systems of the past, the firstpacking ring will absorb 50% of the total line pressure, all rings inseries thereafter will absorb 50% of the previous ring. These findsreveal that once the system media leaks past the first packing ring,shortly thereafter it will leak past all subsequent rings and into thesurrounding environment.

Unlike the aforementioned seal system, my NPTF portable stuffing box,with the power shaft's radius grooves perform as individual sealingchambers, preventing premature shaft seal failure.

My NPTF portable stuffing box incorporates a unique tier stack concept.This design will have significant impact in the reduction of specialordered castings, the expensive machining of valve body deep stuffingbox, while improving manufacturing lead-time.

Maintenance personnel can install new packing system in minutes versushours it may take to service a shaft seal system of the past. Theportable stuffing box will be shelf stock as a pre-assembled packingring component. Replacement will find maintenance personnel un-threadingthe old stuffing box and installing the pre-packed stuffing box.

The process control industry creates a vast array of very hostileprocesses to control. The specialty valve industry will find thisinvention of significant importance, since its components and materialinterchangeability enable one valve design to control a broad spectrumof industries exotic processes. This invention further provide increasedproductivity through increased flow in the small port butterfly valvewhile keeping manufacturing, procurement and maintenance costaffordable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown a present preferredembodiment of the invention wherein:

FIG. 1A illustrates one embodiment of the valve body and a doubleconical valve disk shown in partial cross-section with the valve disk inthe fully open position;

FIG. 1B illustrates one embodiment of the valve body and a singleconical valve disk shown in partial cross-section with the valve disk inthe fully open position;

FIG. 1C illustrates one embodiment of the valve body and lean profilevalve disk shown in partial cross-section with the valve disk in thefully open position;

FIG. 1D illustrates one embodiment of the valve body and valve diskshown in partial cross-section with the valve disk in the fully openposition;

FIG. 1E illustrates one embodiment of the valve body and valve diskshown in partial cross-section with the valve disk in the partially openposition;

FIG. 1F illustrates one embodiment of the valve body and valve diskshown in partial cross-section with the valve disk in the fully closedposition;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional front view of one embodiment of the valvebody of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional side view of the valve body and valve diskof FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional top view of one embodiment of the valvebody of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional front view of one embodiment of the valvebody of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional side view of the valve body of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional top view of the valve body of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is a front view of one embodiment of the valve body of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional side view of the valve body of FIG. 4Ataken along the line BB--BB in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional top view of the valve body of FIG. 4A takenalong the line CC--CC in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional side view of another embodiment of thevalve body of the present invention showing the valve disk in phantom;

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the valve disk ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the valve disk of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the valve disk of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5D is a top view of one embodiment of a valve disk of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5E is a front view of the valve disk of FIG. 5D;

FIG. 5F is a cross-sectional view of the valve disk of FIG. 5D takenalong the line DD--DD;

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the valvedisk of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the valve disk of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7A is a top view of one embodiment of the valve disk of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7B is a front view of the valve disk of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C is a cross-sectional view of the valve disk of FIG. 7B takenalong the line EE--EE in FIG. 7B;

FIG. 7D is a cross-sectional view of the valve disk of FIG. 7B takenalong the line FF--FF in FIG. 7C;

FIG. 8 is a front view of a portion of the control shaft of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the rotating seal of the present invention asused in conjunction with the control shaft;

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the bushing of the present invention as usedin conjunction with the control shaft;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the rotating seal of the present invention asused in conjunction with the slave shaft;

FIG. 12 is a top view of the bushing of the present invention as used inconjunction with the slave shaft; and

FIG. 13 is a front view of a portion of the slave shaft of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes ofillustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention only andnot for purposes of limiting same, the Figures show a valve apparatusfor use in controlling flow through a pipe.

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate three embodiments of the valve body and disk ofthe present invention. The valve body 12 is shown therein in conjunctionwith valve disk 30, 230 or 330, respectively. The valve body 12 has aspherical bore portion 14, which is truncated by two planes which areparallel and are equidistantly spaced on opposite sides of the centerplane of the valve body, and a cylindrical bore valve seat 16. The boreof the valve body defines an inside surface 18. The valve body may beconstructed from any suitable material such as (PVC) pressure vesselquality, carbon steel or 316 stainless, for example. The disk 30 ispreferably shaped as a pair of cones having their bases adjacent oneanother. FIG. 1A illustrates a double conical disk 30 which ispreferable where high strength is desirable. FIG. 1B illustrates asingle conical disk 230 which has increased flow over the double conicaldisk 30. FIG. 1C illustrates the lean profile disk 330 which has maximumflow characteristics. FIG. 1D illustrates the valve disk 30 in the fullyopen position. FIG. 1E illustrates the valve disk 30 in the partiallyopen or throttling position. FIG. 1F illustrates the valve disk in thefully closed position. As will be described hereinbelow, the uniqueconstruction of one embodiment of the valve disk utilizing a movableT-seal allows for radial contraction of the valve disk 30, thus makingit possible for the valve disk 30 to move into the fully closed positionwhere, due to the cylindrical bore valve seat 16, 116 or 216, the radialdistance from the center 22 of the valve body 12 to the valve seat 16,116 or 216 is slightly smaller than the radial distance from the center22 to the remainder of the inside surface 18 of the valve body 12.

FIGS. 2A and 2C illustrate one embodiment of the valve body 12. In thisembodiment, the valve seat 216 is rigid, cylindrical in construction andconstructed of polytetrafluoroethylene impregnated fiberglass. The valveseat 216 is held in place by retaining rings 218. The valve body 12 isadapted to be inserted into a pipeline by conventional means such asbolting the valve body between flanges. As seen in FIGS. 4A and 4C, thevalve body 12 has a mounting surface 173 which includes two dovetailgrooves 174 designed to receive mating pins 176 (shown in FIGS. 1E and1F). The mating pins 176 insure that the valve is aligned within theopening in the pipeline. The mating surface can be constructed toinclude radius grooves 170 for high temperature and pressure applicationas shown in FIG. 3C or with O-rings 172 and dovetail groove 174 as shownin FIGS. 2C, 4A and 4C. The valve body 12, as depicted in FIGS. 2A and2C, includes an outer member 23 and an inner member 24 although thevalve body can be of unitary construction as shown in FIGS. 1E and 4D.The inner member 24 has a cylindrical centerline valve seat 16 machinedtherein. Alternatively, the cylindrical centerline valve seat could be arigid insert into a groove in the valve body. The remainder of the boreof the valve body 12 is the shape of a truncated sphere.

In the valve body 112 depicted in FIG. 3A, the valve body 112 includesan outer member 123 and an inner member 124. The valve body 112 includesa cylindrical bore valve seat 116 which is constructed of an elastomericmaterial such as rubber or polytetrafluoroethylene. On either side ofthe cylindrical bore valve seat 116 is a spherical bore portion 114. Thecylindrical bore valve seat 116 is disposed within a groove 118 which ismachined within the valve body 112. The elastomeric valve seat may bebiased toward the center 122 of the valve body by insertion of a biasingmember (not shown) into the groove 118. Alternatively, if desired, ports120 may be disposed within the valve body 112 which allow for theintroduction of a pressure medium into the groove 118, behind the valveseat 116 to force the valve seat 116 to move toward the valve bodycenter 122, thus allowing for a more effective seal.

Disposed through the valve body, 12 or 112, are two bores, a controlshaft bore 54 and a slave shaft bore 56, which are axially aligned withone another. The control shaft bore 54 is adapted for receiving thecontrol shaft 60 therethrough as shown in FIG. 2A. A slave shaft 61 isrotatably disposed through the slave shaft bore 56 in the valve body. Aunique attachment assembly, which rotatably attaches the disk to thevalve body, will be described hereinbelow.

FIGS. 5A and 6A illustrate two embodiments of the valve disk. The valvedisk 30, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A, is designed to be used inconjunction with the valve body depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2C. In FIG. 5A,a valve disk 30 is shown in cross section. As shown in FIGS. 5D, 5E and5F, the valve disk is shaped as two cones having their bases adjacentone another. The valve disk 30 includes a machining bore 31 to allow thevalve disk 30 to be held while being machined. As shown in FIG. 5A, thedisk 30 includes tongues 52 and 53, on opposing ends of the disk 30along two cords of the disk adjacent the perimetrical surface. The disk30 also includes a seal groove 32 adapted to receive a T-seal 34. T-seal34 has a sealing portion 36 with a perimetrical surface 35 and aattachment portion 38. The attachment portion 38 has a plurality ofholes 41 for attachment to corresponding holes 40 in the valve disk 30.As shown in FIG. 5B, the T-seal 34 may be constructed of metal andattached to the disk 30 by means of screws 42 or, as shown in FIG. 5C,the T-seal 34 may be attached to the disk by means of pins 44 which arewelded to the disk 30. As shown in FIG. 6B, the T-seal 234 may beconstructed of an elastomeric material and not attached to the disk 30by any rigid means. Holes 41 in the T-seal 34 are oversized, thusallowing the T-seal 34 to move radially with respect to the disk 30.Behind the attachment portion 38 of the T-seal 34 is disposed a linearexpansion member 46 which biases the T-seal 34 in a direction radiallyoutward relative to the disk 30.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6A, the linear expansion member 46 canbe replaced with a elastomeric expansion member 146 which also biasesthe T-seal 34 in a direction away from the disk 30. The disk 30 includesfour recesses or coupling pads 50, two pairs at each end of the disk 30on opposite sides, with two recesses or coupling pads adjacent to eachtongue 52 and 53. Between each pair of recesses or coupling pads 50 is areinforcement plate 51 which strengthens the disk at the location of therecesses or coupling pads 50.

Another embodiment of the valve disk is shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C and7D. The disk 130 is solid in construction so that it will not contractand has a convex perimetrical surface 134. The valve disk 130 includes amachining bore 131 to allow the valve disk 130 to be held while beingmachined. The valve disk 130 includes coupling pads 150 and tongues 152and 153 similar to coupling pads 50 and tongues 52 and 53 describedabove. The disk 130, as it is of solid construction, has a constantradius. Accordingly, the disk 130 is intended to be used in conjunctionwith the valve body 112 as depicted in FIG. 3A and 3C. This valve body112, as described above, includes an elastomeric valve seat 116, whichdeforms upon rotation of the valve disk 130 into the closed position andexerts a force radially inward, thus providing for an effective seal.

As shown in FIGS. 3B and 4D, the disk 30 is rotated by a control shaft60 which is attached to disk 30 by a unique attachment assembly. Thisattachment assembly will be described in conjunction with the valve disk30 and valve body 12 for the purpose of simplicity. However, the valvedisk 130 and valve body 112 may utilize the same attachment assembly.The shaft 60 has an end 62 which terminates in two legs 64 and 66. Thelegs 64 and 66 define a U-shaped receiving aperture 68, adapted toreceive the coupling pads 50. The legs 64 and 66 include holes 26 forattaching the legs 64 and 66 to the disk by conventional attachmentmeans such as bolts, screws or rivets or by a weld bead. In low pressureapplications, it is possible to have no rigid fasteners connecting thedisk and shaft. The holes 26 correspond to holes 27 (FIG. 5A) in thevalve disk 30 however, the holes 27 are slightly oversized, thusallowing for slight movement of the disk as is discussed hereinbelow. Agroove 70 in the shaft 60, as shown in FIG. 8, is adapted to receive thetongue 52. The shaft 60 may include a replaceable bearing area 100constructed of a material such as polytetrafluoroethylene impregnatedfiberglass cloth, graphite, metal spray or bearing bronze sheet.

A bushing 72, as shown in FIG. 10, is provided with a bore 74 adapted toreceive the control shaft 60. The bushing 72 includes an outer groove 84to receive the perimetrical surface 35 of the valve disk 30 and an innergroove 85 to receive the tongue 52. The bushing 72 includes O-rings 76and 78 (FIG. 3B) to create a seal between the bushing 72 and the shaft60. The bushing 72 is rotatably disposed within the shaft bore 54 andincludes a bearing flange 98.

Surrounding the bushing 72 and adjacent the disk is a circular rotatingseal 80, as shown in FIG. 9. Rotating seal 80 is adapted to be rotatablyreceived within the bore 14 of the valve body 12 and abuts against theinside surface 18. The rotating seal 80 includes a bore 88 to receivethe bushing 72. The bearing flange 98 is adapted to abut the rotatingseal 80. The rotating seal 80 also includes an outer groove 82 forreceiving the perimetrical surface 35 of the disk 30 and a inner groove83 for receiving the tongue 52. The combination of the shaft 60,rotating seal 80 and bushing 72 provide a very strong attachmentassembly for attachment of the shaft 60 to the disk 30. The attachmentassembly is constructed such that the disk may move slightly in thedirection parallel to the groove 82 thus allowing the disk 30 toself-align within the valve body bore 14.

The slave shaft 61 is attached to the valve disk 30 in a similar manner.The slave shaft 61, as shown in FIG. 13, has an end 63 which terminatesin legs 65 and 67. The legs 65 and 67 include holes 28 which correspondto holes 29 in the valve disk 30. The legs 65 and 67 define a receivingaperture 69, adapted to receive the coupling pads 50. The slave shaft 61also includes a replaceable bearing area 101 A groove 71 in the shaft 61is adapted to receive the tongue 53. A bushing 73, as shown in FIG. 12,is provided with a bore 75 adapted to receive the slave shaft 61. Thebushing 73 includes O-rings 77 and 79 to create a seal between bushing73 and the slave shaft 61 (FIG. 3B). The bushing 73 is rotatablydisposed within the shaft bore 56 and includes a bearing flange 99. Thebushing 73 includes an outer groove 95 for receiving the perimetricalsurface 35 and an inner groove 96 for receiving the tongue 53.Surrounding the bushing 73 and adjacent the valve disk 30 or 130 is acircular rotating seal 81, as shown in FIG. 11 The rotating seal 81 isadapted to be rotatably received within the bore 14 of the valve body 12and abuts against the inside surface 18. The rotating seal 81 includes abore 89 for receiving the bushing 73. The bearing flange 99 is adaptedto abut against the rotating seal 81. The rotating seal 81 also includesa groove 86 for receiving the perimetrical surface 35 and a groove 87for receiving the tongue 53.

In one embodiment as shown in FIG. 3A, a stuffing box 90 is threadedinto the valve body 112 and has a bore therein to receive the bushing72. The threads on the stuffing box 90 and the threads on the valve body112 may be constructed such that a difference in taper exists to allowfor a tighter seal between the two. The stuffing box 90 includes packingrings 92 constructed of a resilient material such aspolytetrafluoroethylene cord. The shaft 60 has grooves 58 for receivingthe packing rings 92. A packing follower 94 is threadably received inthe stuffing box 90. When threaded into the stuffing box 90, the packingfollower 94 presses downward onto the packing rings 92 thus forcing theminto the grooves 58 on the shaft 60. If desired, a second stuffing box(not shown) can replace the packing follower 94 to provide additionalsealing between the valve body bore and atmosphere. When a secondstuffing box is used, the packing follower 94 is used to force thepacking rings of the second stuffing box into the grooves (not shown) ofthe shaft.

Alternatively, a sealing bushing 190 can be slidably inserted into valvebody as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. With sealing bushing 190, O-rings 175,177, 179 and 192 seal the valve body bore 14 from atmosphere.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the stuffing box adjacent the slave shaft can bereplaced with a sealing bushing 180 which is threadably attached to thevalve body 112. The sealing bushing 180 includes an O-rings 182 and 184,which surround the shaft bore 54 and seals the valve body 112 fromatmosphere. O-rings 182 and 184 prevent the pressure medium fromescaping from the valve body 12 along the shaft 61.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a sealing bushing 280 may be slidably insertedwithin the slave shaft bore 56 and includes O-rings 282, 284, 286 and288 to seal the slave shaft bore 56.

In operation, the shaft 60 is rotated by an actuator such as, forexample, the actuator described in my pending patent application, U.S.application Ser. No. 692,328 filed Apr. 26, 1991, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference. The shaft 60, bushing 72, androtating seal 80 rotate in unison and being connected to the disk 30,cause the disk to rotate. The disk 30 can be rotated into any positionbetween fully open and fully closed as illustrated in FIGS. 1D, 1E and1F. The pressure medium flowing through the bore 14 in the valve body 12is prevented from escaping from the valve body to atmosphere by theeffective sealing characteristics of the attachment assembly and thestuffing box.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials andarrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustratedin order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by thoseskilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. Apparatus for attaching a valve member including a diskhaving a perimetrical surface and first and second opposing surfaces toa control shaft within the bore of a valve body having a control shaftbore therethrough, comprising:a tongue member partially along saidperimetrical surface of the valve member; two coupling pads recessed insaid opposing surfaces of the valve member, adjacent said tongue member;a pair of leg members, integral to the control shaft, said leg membersdefining an aperture, said aperture adapted to receive said couplingpads, the control shaft further having a groove constructed to receivesaid tongue; a bushing adapted to be rotatably received by the controlshaft bore having a bore therethrough adapted to receive the controlshaft, an outer groove adapted to receive the perimetrical surface ofthe valve member and an inner groove within said outer grove adapted toreceive said tongue; and a circular rotating seal having a bore adaptedto receive said bushing, an outer groove adapted to receive saidperimetrical surface and an inner groove adapted to receive said tongue,the bore of the valve body defining an inside surface, said rotatingseal constructed to abut said inside surface of the valve body aboutsaid control shaft bore such that the valve member may be rotated by thecontrol shaft between an open and closed position.
 2. Valve apparatuscomprising:a valve body having a spherical bore therethrough with acylindrical centerline valve seat and a control shaft bore therethrough;a control shaft rotatably mounted through said control shaft bore; avalve member comprising a disk constructed as two cones integral to oneanother, said cones having their bases adjacent one another and aperimetrical surface, said valve member having a tongue; the controlshaft including a groove therein adapted to receive said tongue; twocoupling pads recessed in opposite sides of said valve member, adjacentsaid tongue member; a pair of leg members, integral to said controlshaft, said leg members defining an aperture, said aperture adapted toreceive said coupling pads, said control shaft further having a grooveconstructed to receive said tongue; a bushing having a bore adapted toreceive said control shaft, an outer groove adapted to receive saidperimetrical surface of said valve member and an inner grove within saidouter groove adapted to receive said tongue; a circular rotating sealhaving a bore adapted to receive said bushing and a groove adapted toreceive said tongue such that said valve member may be rotatably mountedwithin said valve body for rotation by a control shaft between an openposition and a closed position.
 3. A valve element apparatus forcontrolling flow through a pipeline comprising:a valve body adapted forinsertion into the pipeline having a control shaft bore, a slave shaftbore and a spherical valve bore therethrough with a cylindricalcenterline valve seat, said valve bore defining an inside surface; acontrol shaft rotatably mounted through said control shaft bore; a slaveshaft rotatably mounted through said slave shaft bore; a valve membercomprising a disk constructed as two cones integral to one another, saidcones having their bases adjacent one another and an outsideperimetrical surface; a tongue on said valve member adjacent saidcontrol shaft; a pair of recesses in opposite sides of said valvemember, adjacent said tongue member; a pair of leg members, integral tosaid control shaft, said leg members defining an aperture, said apertureadapted to receive said recesses, said control shaft further having areceiving surface having a receiving groove adapted to receive saidtongue; a bushing having a bore therethrough adapted to receive saidcontrol shaft and a first groove adapted to receive said perimetricalsurface of said valve member and an inner grove within said outer groveadapted to receive said tongue; a circular rotating seal having a boretherethrough adapted to receive said bushing and a groove adapted toreceive said tongue; a stuffing box having a bore therethrough adaptedto receive said bushing at one end, said bore in said bushing havingthreads at the other end; packing rings adapted to be received by saidbore in said stuffing box; said control shaft further including groovestherein for receiving said packing rings; and a packing follower adaptedto be threadably received by said other end of said bore in saidstuffing box such that said packing follower may exert a force on saidpacking rings to cause said packing rings to enter said grooves on saidcontrol shaft.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said valve memberfurther includes a seal groove therein, said valve member comprising;aT-seal having a sealing portion and an attachment portion, saidattachment portion adapted to be movably received by said seal groove;and a biasing means acting on said attachment portion to bias saidT-seal in a direction radially outward from said valve member.